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maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,682
43,740
I'm sure these snapdragon laptops can be as quiet - will they? Only time will tell
 
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hajime

macrumors 604
Original poster
Jul 23, 2007
7,906
1,306
When are we going to see actual reviews from professional reviewers? Can't find any with details yet.
 

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,682
43,740
They're just announcing the laptops and I believe the release date is June 18th, so it will be around that time frame
 
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Sheepish-Lord

macrumors 68030
Oct 13, 2021
2,516
5,129
I think the Surface laptop and tablet are thicker than their old Intel counterparts so that’s not a good sign. We will see.
 

SteveJUAE

macrumors 601
Aug 14, 2015
4,506
4,742
Land of Smiles
Surface Pro 9 (Intel/Wifi)
Length: 287 mm (11.3 in)
Width: 209 mm (8.2 in)
Height: 9.3 mm (0.37 in)
Weight 1 : 879 g (1.94 lb)

New Surface Pro (Snapdragon® X Plus, Snapdragon® X Elite/Wifi)
Length: 11.3 inch (287 mm)
Width: 8.2 inch (209 mm)
Height: 0.37 inch (9.3 mm)
Weight: 1.97 lbs (895 g)


Surface Laptop 5 13.5-inch:
Length: 308 mm (12.1 inches)
Width: 223 mm (8.8 inches)
Height: 14.5 mm (0.57 inches)
Weight: Fabric 1,272 grams (2.80 lbs.)
Metal 1,297 grams ( 2.86 pounds)

Surface Laptop 5 15-inch:
Length: 340 mm (13.4 inches)
Width: 244 mm (9.6 inches)
Height: 14.7 mm (0.58 inches)
Weight: 1,560 grams (3.44 lbs)

New Surface Laptop 13.8”:
Length:
11.85 inch (301 mm)
Width: 8.67 inch (220 mm)
Height: 0.69 inch (17.5 mm)
Weight: 2.96 lbs (1.34 kg)

New Surface Laptop 15”:
Length:
12.96 inch (329 mm)
Width: 9.41 inch (239 mm)
Height: 0.72 inch (18.29 mm)
Weight: 3.67 lbs (1.66 kg)
 

Melbourne Park

macrumors 65816
They'll be quieter IMO. Because the previous ones were designed for Intel chips, and the Snapdragon is a much cooler processor. I doubt they'll have lessened the cooling capacity. So could be a lot quieter than previously.

As for competing with MacBook quietness - that is unknown. If they compete with the 14" MacBook Pro with the Max Processor, then they'd likely be quieter than that. But with a 16" with the Pro processor - I doubt it. Plus it's what you want to do with the unit which will have the biggest effect.
 

hajime

macrumors 604
Original poster
Jul 23, 2007
7,906
1,306
None of the manufacturers have shown a 16" or larger Snapdragon X Elite laptop yet. What is the reason?

I need to buy a laptop for Blender and CAD (in Windows). It should be able to drive at least two external 5K screens and of course, dead silent. No AI is preferred.

If buying this year, is MacBook Pro 16" M3/M4 Pro/Max still the best option?
 
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Melbourne Park

macrumors 65816
Surface Pro 9 (Intel/Wifi)
Length: 287 mm (11.3 in)
Width: 209 mm (8.2 in)
Height: 9.3 mm (0.37 in)
Weight 1 : 879 g (1.94 lb)

New Surface Pro (Snapdragon® X Plus, Snapdragon® X Elite/Wifi)
Length: 11.3 inch (287 mm)
Width: 8.2 inch (209 mm)
Height: 0.37 inch (9.3 mm)
Weight: 1.97 lbs (895 g)


Surface Laptop 5 13.5-inch:
Length: 308 mm (12.1 inches)
Width: 223 mm (8.8 inches)
Height: 14.5 mm (0.57 inches)
Weight: Fabric 1,272 grams (2.80 lbs.)
Metal 1,297 grams ( 2.86 pounds)

Surface Laptop 5 15-inch:
Length: 340 mm (13.4 inches)
Width: 244 mm (9.6 inches)
Height: 14.7 mm (0.58 inches)
Weight: 1,560 grams (3.44 lbs)

New Surface Laptop 13.8”:
Length:
11.85 inch (301 mm)
Width: 8.67 inch (220 mm)
Height: 0.69 inch (17.5 mm)
Weight: 2.96 lbs (1.34 kg)

New Surface Laptop 15”:
Length:
12.96 inch (329 mm)
Width: 9.41 inch (239 mm)
Height: 0.72 inch (18.29 mm)
Weight: 3.67 lbs (1.66 kg)



Thanks for that.

I wondered whether Microsoft try to hide the specification differences? And if so, perhaps they are forced to publish them and hence hide them?

Anyway I organised your wonderful data a little bit so I could understand it inside my grey matter:

Surface Pro 9 (Intel/Wifi)
Length: (11.3in) (287mm)
Width: (8.2in) (209mm)
Height: (0.37in) (9.3mm)
Weight: (1.94lb) (879g)

New Surface Pro (Snapdragon® X Plus, Snapdragon® X Elite/Wifi)
Length: (11.3in) (287mm) Same
Width: (8.2in) (209mm) Same
Height: (0.37in) (9.3mm) Same
Weight: (1.97lb) (895g) 16g or 1.8% Heavier

Surface Laptop 5 13.5-inch:
Length: (12.1in) (308mm)
Width: (8.8in) (223mm)
Height: (0.57in) (14.5mm)
Weight: Fabric (2.80lbs) (1272 grams)
Weight: Metal (2.86lbs) (1297 grams)

New Surface Laptop 13.8"
Length ( 11.85in) (301mm) 7mm shorter
Width ( 8.67in) (220mm) 3 mm narrower
Height ( 0.69in) (17.5mm) 3mm higher
Weight ( 2.96lb) (1340 grams) 34 grams heavier

Surface
Length: (13.4inches) (340mm)
Width: (9.6inches) (244mm)
Height: (0.58inches) (14.7mm)
Weight: (3.44lbs) (1560 grams)

New Surface Laptop 15”:
Length: ( 12.96in) (329mm) 11mm less length ie narrower
Width: ( 9.41in) (239mm) 5 mm less width ie less depth
Height: ( 0.72in) (18.29mm) 3.6 mm - 24.4% - higher ie thicker so one quarter more thick
Weight: ( 3.67lb) (1660 grams) 100 grams heavier

MacBook Air 15.3”
Length: 13.40 inches (340.4 mm)
Width: 9.35 inches (237.6 mm)
Height: 0.45 inch (11.5 mm)
Weight: 3.3 pounds (1510 grams)

MacBook Pro 16.2”
Length: 14.01 inches (355.7 mm)
Width: 9.77 inches (248.1 mm)
Height: 0.66 inch (16.8 mm)
Weight (M3 Pro): 4.7 pounds (2140 grams)
Weight (M3 Max): 4.8 pounds (2160 grams)

The 15" new Surface is a lot thicker. It seems more the form factor of the MacBook Air 15", but with the thickness of a MacBook Pro.

On the thickness - I found my 16" MacBook Pro M much more bulky than my 15.4" Intel MacBook Pro. I had presumed Apple's increase in bulk was due to having more ports (the 15.4" only had 4 T3 ports and a headphone jack).

Looking at the increase in thickness of the 15" surface, perhaps that increase was not primarily about the ports? For instance, might there be further Snapdragon processors which require a thicker casing and cooling? Such as with comparing the 15" MacBook Air to a MacBook Pro?

Also the 15.4" Apple form factor was tapered, while the 16" brick like and IMO much more difficult to carry in a bag, especially if it had a protection case around it. Mine did have an Apple recommended case because I trialled the MacBook Pro (Max config) and returned it to the Apple store. Due to my feeling that 1 TB would not be enough for long term usage. Apple's storage pricing is driving me away from Apple.

I suspect the extra thickness will aid quiet running a lot due to fan design, and the efforts of keeping a hot Intel processor cool, are likely still in the new Surfaces, yet they have a much cooler running processor in the Snapdragons. Although the Snapdragon processors used are 4nm thick - Apple's M3 processors (and M4 ones) are 3nm thick. Overall, the thinner those processors are, the cooler they run. Compared to a 16" MacBook Pro, they also vary a lot in processors. But my Max M3 never turned it fan on, but then I never pushed it. Due to the limit of 1 TB.
 
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